Hopkinsville Site Earns Build-Ready Certification

A 22-acre tract within Hopkinsville’s nearly 316-acre Commerce Industrial Park received certification as Kentucky’s 10th Build-Ready site, a designation offering companies a streamlined process to rapidly locate, build and begin operations, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development announced today.

The newly certified site includes a 200,000 square-foot pad with a proposed building size of 50,000 square feet. Electric, water, natural gas, sewer and roadway exten to the site edge and the necessary permits, studies and renderings have been completed and filed.

“The announcement of this new Build-Ready site in Christian County is great news for both the local community and any large-scale employer considering a move to the region in the near future,” said Mandy Lambert, commissioner of the department for business development at the Cabinet. “This certification indicates to prospective companies that the site has addressed pre-construction needs, which would allow construction to begin almost immediately. Also, it will provide a competitive advantage for Hopkinsville in its attempt to attract new business.”

Build-Ready means a site includes a pad 50,000 square feet or greater, expandable to 100,000 square feet or more, utilities extended to an edge of the site, and the necessary permits and studies are in place including water, phase-1 environmental, archeological, historical and geotechnical, as well as preliminary building plans, cost estimates and schedule projections.

The applicant – usually a city, county or economic-development group – must also provide preliminary design work, a total-cost projection, construction timeframes and a rendering of a potential building for the site.

At less than three years old, the Build-Ready program has certified 10 locations across the state including the new Hopkinsville site. Efforts toward certification continue on more than a half-dozen other sites.

Due to high levels of interest in Bowling Green’s two Build-Ready pads, local officials decided to advance one site further by building a speculative facility. It represents an example of Kentucky communities working in advance to meet the demands of business expansions and new locations.

Sen. Whitney Westerfield, of Hopkinsville, noted the impact the Build-Ready site could have on his hometown.

“These Build-Ready sites are a perfect example of Kentucky’s innovative and business-friendly atmosphere,” he said. “We strive to keep development areas in our region in high demand and this site is yet another great incentive for companies to locate and create jobs in Hopkinsville and Christian County.”

Rep. Myron Dossett, of Pembroke, said the Build-Ready site makes clear that Christian County is open for business.

“I want to congratulate Hopkinsville on their new Build-Ready site,” he said. “This is another step in ensuring Christian County remains competitive and sees further economic development in the future. This certification sends a clear message that Hopkinsville is ready for new business, and I look forward to seeing the jobs created through this streamlined process.”

Christian County Judge-Executive Steve Tribble said the announcement will draw attention to the region.

“The Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Build-Ready program is making the Commerce Park industrial sites in our region more marketable to an audience of site selection consultants and prospective business entities,” he said.

Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks said he supports making it easier for companies to locate in the community.

“Product development is critical to continued economic development success in Hopkinsville,” he said. “By having a certified Build-Ready site in our community, we are eliminating site development roadblocks for prospective companies.”

Kentucky’s other Build-Ready sites include tracts in the Highland Glen Industrial Park in Barren County, the Bluegrass Crossings Regional Business Centre in Ohio County, the 4 Star Regional Industrial Park in Henderson, the Hickory Industrial Park in Graves County, the Kentucky Transpark in Bowling Green, the Shelton Industrial Park in Russellville, Progress Park in Horse Cave and Muhlenberg County Industrial Park in Greenville.